Phonophobia

|11|

"Seriously Gail, stop disappearing into thin air with that piece of shit!" Lace exclaimed sending a bowl of steaming carbonara pasta down the island.

I gasped and balled my palms into fists.

"Payne is not a piece of dump!" I retaliated.

"The fuck he is! He is nothing but a low life piece of scum." She shot back.

"You don't even know him." I said, gripping my fork hard.

Across me, Lace laughed humorlessly.

"You don't know half the things I do about him." She said, her eyes taking a dangerous glint.

"What do you mean? You haven't even met him before!" I said, exasperated.

"Neither has half of New York but they still stay far away from him. And it could be anybody, Abigail, anybody who he could've set his eyes on. But he picked you."

"What's wrong with me?"

"That's the problem Abigail! Nothing is wrong with you! He's going to take advantage of you and you'll end up like the rest! He's a fucking assassin, he kills people for money." Lace inputted.

"He kills bad people." I corrected.

Lace looked at me, the corners of her eyes brimmed with tears.

"That's what he told you? He kills bad people? Well, Fuck. Him." She spat, abruptly standing up.

"Lace stop this attitude, you're being childish."

"Childish?" She questioned before laughing. "And who are you to tell me to stop things and stuff? Well news flash Abigail, you aren't my fucking mother, and my mother is fucking dead because my goddamned father put a bullet inside her head! And with that said, you can't and will not fucking take her place do you hear me!" Lace yelled and I flinched.

"That's what I thought." She snarled before rounding the counter and headed for the door.

I kept my eyes planted on the bowl in front of me.

Tears prickled the corners of my eyes. She didn't have to be rude about the whole thing.

Why would I take her mother's place? I was just trying to make her see Payne in a different way.

The door opened and closed silently, indicating her departure.

A choked sob left my throat and I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the rest.

I pushed away the plate and hung my head low on the island and cried.

That was a better solution.

Crying.

At least it was better than having an attack.

~*~

I pushed the transparent door open, quickly switching the close sign to open. The fresh scent of coffee alerted me that Gabi was here. I quickly darted to the workers room and grabbed an apron.

Sticking my hands inside the huge pockets of my apron, I pulled out my notepad started to take down list of stuffs we were running out of. After I did that, I popped my head into Gabi's office for a quick 'hello'

"G'morning Gabi!" I beamed once the door opened.

My lower body was instantly rammed backwards as a smaller body hugged mine.

"Baybi!" Derrick exclaimed from below.

"Ricky!" I said with matching enthusiasm.

The eight year old gave me a toothy grin and released me.